Melissa Chavez, MSN, PHN, FNP
Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner
Skills and Qualifications
- CA Registered Licensed RN
- Public Health Nurse Certified
- Trauma Nurse Core Course (TNCC)
- BLS, CPR Certified
- Hospital Fire and Safety
- TNCC Certified
- NIBSS Certification
- ACLS
- PALS
- Native Spanish speaker
- Extensive bilingual knowledge in equipment and medical terminology
- Strong critical thinking skills and capable of assessing various conditions as well as implementing appropriate interventions
- Relates well with people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds
- Suturing, I&D's, Skin tags, toenail excisions experience during clinical rotations in Urgent Care and Ventura Orthopedics
- Skillfully able to develop rapport with patients, family, staff, and physicians
- Adaptable, and always available for being cross trained in different areas of any department
- Capable of working independently and effectively, as well as in a group
- Confident with leadership positions and situations
- Experienced at preparing and administering vaccmes
- Excellent IV skills
- Experience in Preceptorship training
- National Nurses Student Association
- Critical care experience
- Splinting experience
- Strong orthopedic/rehabilitation background
- Blood administration experienced
- Rapid sequence intubation experience
- Pediatric experience
- Psychiatric experience
Education
- Masters of Science, Family Nurse Practitioner, CSUCI, Camarillo, CA 05/2023-06/2025
3.94 GPA - Bachelor of Science in Nursing, West Coast University, Los Angeles, CA 09/2019 - 10/2021
Awarded Honors/ Deans List Affiliations: National Nurses Student Association - Bachelor's in Science in Kinesiology, California State University, Northridge, CA 08/2011 - 06/2014
- Associates Degree in Liberal Studies: Ventura College, Ventura, CA 08/2008 - 06/2011
Scholar athlete: women's soccer team
Work Experience
- Nurse Practitioner – Ocean Orthopedic Surgery 12/16/25 - Present
168 N Brent Street, Ste 505, Ventura, CA 93003
Lead RN in Neurology and Pain Specialty Department@ WVMC Ambulatory Care 05/2023 – 12/2025
- Managing medical assistant schedules and staff coverage
- Involved in maintaining and executing safety protocols and procedures
- Leading a department by using effective communication with medical assistants and providers
- Respond to emergency pages within the clinic building
- Assist providers with patient care, pain management
- Triage patients and patient phone calls
- Medication refills
- Approve/manage PTO requests from staff
- Case management
Emergency Room Nurse II, VCMC Emergency Department 03/2021 - 07/2023 Full Time
07/2023-PRESENT as Float RN
- Assess, plan, organize, and provide nursing care to assigned patients
- Follow prescribed doctors' orders concerning treatments and medicationsDocument patient treatment and dispensing; makes patient observations; record and report on all pertinent information, including changes in patient condition and general progress
- Emergency Department Trauma RN shift assignment
- Provide follow-through on judgement within the scope of accepted nursing practice
- Assist doctors in examination and treatment
- Assist in training, supervision and evaluation of new and ancillary personnel
- Maintain current knowledge of nursing care developments and therapeutic measures; Perform other related duties as required.
- Offer English-Spanish interpretation to all staff when needed
- Offer Preceptorship to new nurses, paramedic students, nursing students, and EMT students
- Drawing blood cultures
- Experienced in rapid sequence intubations, code blues, moderate sedation procedures, port access
- Pediatric patient experience: inserting IVs, physical assessments, medication administration
- Psychiatric patient experience: deescalating, case management, medical clearances
Physical Therapy & Wound Care Aide/MOA II: VCMC Eastman Therapy Services 11/2015 - 08/2019 ➔ 11/2020-03/2022
- Assist the therapists with keeping them on track with their schedule, setting up the patients, revising and assisting patients with their exercises along with educating them.
- Answering phones, scheduling patients, verifying insurances, managing therapists' work schedules, auditing insurance eligibilities, etc.
- Assist with wound care and dressings
- Execute appointments with modalities such as moist heat/ice therapy, ultrasound, light therapy, IFC electric stimulation, and teach exercises respective to each patient's protocol.
- Translated for therapists with Spanish speaking patients
Medical Office Assistant, MOA II, VCMC Emergency Department 05/2020 - 03/2022
- Register patients into our hospital system, verify health insurances, collect copayments, verify current patient information, and maintain the currency of patient documents.
- Offered English-Spanish translation to all staff when needed
- Assist triage nurses with patient labels and collecting registration information
- Paging office, transferring phone calls and announcing codes throughout the hospital.
Lead Physical Therapy Aide: Two Trees Physical Therapy 08/2019 - 11/2020
- Assist the therapists (hand, physical, speech and pediatric therapists) with transferring patients to their rooms, teaching therapeutic exercises, and executing modalities such as heat therapy, ice therapy, ultrasounds and IFC
- Supervise fellow colleagues/aides during shift
- Maintain all areas clean and sanitized immediately after patient care
- Translated for the therapists with Spanish speaking patients.
PT Aide and Front Desk Receptionist: California Hand and Physical Therapy 06/2014 - 11/2015
- Assist the therapists with keeping them on track with their schedule, setting up the patients, revising and assisting patients with their exercises as well as educating them.
- Assist with authorization reviews from insurances such as PPOs, HMOs, and worker's compensation.
Soccer Coach: Real SoCal Soccer Club, Woodland Hills, CA 10/2011 - 03/2014
- Responsible for teaching kids ages (5-13) the fundamentals of soccer, help them achieve athleticism, and encourage them to exercise while developing their skills specific to the sport to a competitive level.
- Worked on communication skills, good sportsmanship, and life habits to being a well round player and person.
Volunteer/ Community Involvement
- CSUN Men's Soccer, Northridge, CA
- CSUN Brown Center, Northridge, CA
- Aide intern, Adaptive Therapeutic Exercise Lab
- Vargo's Physical Therapy, Burbank, CA
- VC Trykers, Ventura, CA
